Close to the Fire
by ChibiLovett
Summary: Alex has become unexpectedly fascinated with one of her captive guinea pigs and wants to erase the problem, but unexpected feelings surface that prevent her from finishing the job. Alex/Claire femmeslash, despite the rough start (understatement of the year). Much more interesting than my terrible summary, I promise.


New story, yayyyy! I really need to stop starting more when I still have a ton sitting unfinished. ^^; Oh well. This one has been in development for a while and, again, still isn't finished, but someone requested I post it early anyways (Sorry for taking so long! DX), so here it is. Again with my fascination for demented love stories that are arguably Stockholm syndrome. LOL Anyways, enjoy!

No warnings for anything that isn't commonplace within the source material, aside from possible eventual smut, but I haven't yet decided if there will be any.

* * *

 _It's in your eyes, what's on your mind._

 _I see the truth that you've buried inside._  
 _It's in your eyes, what's on your mind._  
 _There is no mercy just anger I find._

 _I just have know, while I still have time._  
 _Do I have to run, or hide away from you?_

 _~ Within Temptation - A Dangerous Mind_

The Overseer leaned over a console, her lips near a small microphone. A button blinked red, and as she pushed it, the light became solid. "You're so close, but so far. Justice is just out of reach. Can you make the final push?" She chuckled darkly. "I'm excited to see if you can, my little colonists."

"Yeah, that's right! We'll be up there to kill you ourselves, you crazy bitch!" Moira shouted into her bracelet.

Alex lifted her finger, not responding, as per usual. She then watched the screens around her, switching them as necessary as the two moved to different areas. The younger one she didn't much care about. She could succumb to the virus and she wouldn't give her a second thought. In fact, she was a bit shocked she lasted this long. The other woman, however, Claire, had caught her interest. While her emotions in general weren't entirely in check, she did seem to have her fear pretty well under control, which was admirable. She was also able to calm down that Moira girl when she began to get scared, which is quite a feat under the circumstances. On top of that, she was so cool under the immense pressure she was under, and hadn't been near as vulgar or insulting as Moira had been the entire time. In fact, she was finding her increasingly intriguing.

At the same time, however, Claire was the reason they were likely going to get what they wanted. Claire was the smart one, the one able to keep her head clear and not act irrationally, and the one seasoned enough in this sort of situation to know just what to do. Before now, she had been sure that no one could ruin her plans, but now, with those two getting dangerously close to her tower, she was starting to have doubts. As intriguing as she found her, she was also finding her increasingly irritating. She bit her knuckle as she stared up at the ever-changing screens, her mind in a swirl of chaos between the two. Why was she making her feel this? Why couldn't she just loathe her like she did everyone else? To make matters worse, it seemed they had just entered the tower. Something had to be done. She had to erase her from the equation.

As the screens showed the two nearing an open doorway, the only entrance to the area they were attempting to enter anywhere near where they were, Alex stood and returned to the console, hitting a few buttons before stopping, her finger hovering over one. She watched the screen intently, and just as Claire had entered far enough to not be crushed, she pushed it, bringing the door down with a loud slam. Moira would never make it through. That crowbar of hers would never make a dent. She watched for a moment as they banged on the door, trying everything to try and open it, and all of it failing, until finally they separated. A satisfied grin curved her lips as she pushed another button, then pushed the blinking red one again. "Aww, look at you trying to be a tough girl. Come back later and maybe I'll let you have her back." Her voice came through only Moira's bracelet, leading to more vulgarity and insults, which she still didn't give the honor of a response.

After pushing another button, and again holding down the blinking red one, her voice now came through to Claire's ears instead. "How will she ever survive without you? Will you put finding her above finding a way to me? Is your lust for justice stronger than your duty to protect her?"

Claire raised her bracelet to speak into it, still unsure if the Overseer could hear her, but she had nothing to lose by trying. "Stop playing around. You've got enough blood on your hands already. If any of it becomes hers, I will personally -"

"Yes, I know, you'll kill me yourself to avenge her and all of that other cliché vengeance threat nonsense. I'm giving you a chance for something you've been wanting since waking on this island, but you must be patient."

Claire was shocked by the simple fact she responded, then subsequently put back on the alert by her final comment. "And just what is it you're giving me?"

"Patience, my captive darling. All will be revealed soon enough."

"What do you mean?" Claire waited, but wasn't surprised when there wasn't another answer. She was really getting fed up with her little games. She stared for a moment at the bracelet, more determined than ever to break her only contact with that insane woman. She just had to find something to help her do the job.

Alex, meanwhile, got her own rarely used gun, just in case, and walked down to where Claire was, careful so as to make sure her presence wasn't known until she wanted it to be. She watched Claire for a few moments, oddly captivated. Seeing her in person, so close, was different than just seeing her on a screen. She could see her physical features much better, and the pictures and video feed hardly did them justice, even if she was filthy. That last part could be easily fixed.

She then noticed something else that had already changed since last she saw her on a screen. Both wrists were now bare. Her hands and fingers were splattered and smeared with little bits of blood, and she had more than a few cuts and bruises around where the bracelet had been. She glared silently at the woman, getting a fresh taste of that sheer loathing. She couldn't be rash, however. Acting on her anger this soon would only ruin her own plan. She quickly calmed herself, then left the shadow she was hiding in, though she was still behind the other woman. "Oh my." She spoke with a thin layer of concern, but her tone was mostly incredibly mocking and sarcastic.

Claire froze for a moment, not expecting to hear her voice again. She destroyed the bracelet, so there's only one way that could happen.

"You look a bit battered, especially those hands. You should really clean yourself up." Alex stood grinning with her arms folded.

Claire quickly turned around, more than a little shocked to see that she had indeed revealed herself in person. "Are you the Overseer?"

"Indeed I am."

"You must not be as smart as you let on if you're revealing yourself in person," Claire raised her gun and aimed it at the other woman's head, "without even having anything to protect yourself."

"Oh come now. I know you won't kill me yet. You want answers that only I can give, so why don't you put that thing down and we can talk like sensible adults?"

Claire stayed silent, her hand steady, for a few moments, then lowered her weapon. Her hunger for answers won out. "Alright, then talk."

"Not here. I'd rather somewhere a bit more comfortable. Come with me, and then we can talk as much as you like."

Claire couldn't shake her suspicion. She wanted to believe that she was going to get answers, but this was all too easy. There had to be a catch somewhere, or it had to be a trap. Either way, this was her only shot at even the possibility, so she holstered her gun and nodded.

"Wonderful." Alex turned and led Claire further into the tower, eventually reaching a door at which Alex paused for a moment before letting Claire inside. Once both were in, she shut the door again and let Claire look around for a moment. The room was normal enough, at least for now, but there was only the one door. "'It's a machine like no other,' said the officer to the explorer, as he surveyed the machine with a somewhat admiring look, although he was so familiar with it."

Claire turned to her with a puzzled look. "What?"

"The explorer seemed to have accepted merely out of curiosity when the governor had invited him to attend the execution of a soldier condemned to death for disobeying and insulting his superior."

Claire was starting to get a little more worried. It was vague, but all of her threats thus far had been. She went to pull out her gun, only to find it missing out of its holster. "What?! You took it, didn't you?!"

Alex held it up and pointed it at Claire. "I'm a sneaky little snake, aren't I?"

Claire glared at her. "What are you going to do with me? You can't be planning just to kill me or you could have done that when you found me."

"Oh no, dear. I intend to let you experience firsthand the wonder of that miraculous machine, though unfortunately I don't have the machine itself, so you'll have to deal with a bit of a downgrade."

"What are you even talking about?"

"All will be revealed soon enough." She repeated her earlier statement, then backed Claire up against a thick table that was essentially just an extension of the floor. She continued to inch nearer to her. "Turn around." Claire listened and Alex continued closer. Once she was immediately behind her, she gently caressed her back under her jacket, making her shiver.

Claire was really hoping this wasn't going where it seemed to be.

"Lie down."

Her words weren't exactly reassuring that it wasn't, but for now, she listened, still feeling the gun barrel embedded in her side.

Alex climbed on top of her and sat to hold her still, then raised hidden restraints from beneath the table to bind her wrists. Claire began to struggle a bit, but Alex moved the gun barrel to touch the back of her head. "I can kill you if you'd like instead."

Claire cringed from the thought of what was to come, but submitted nonetheless.

Alex, however, had something else in mind from what Claire did, though the opening bits were still similar. She climbed off of her and bound her ankles as well. She then opened a nearby drawer, revealing multiple needles and blades of various sizes. She picked out a normal-looking knife and cut off her jacket and shirt. The woman was every bit as beautiful under the clothes as she had suspected. She ran her finger down her spine, partially to mess with her, and partially to feel the smoothness of her skin before it was tarnished forever. "Our sentence isn't severe. The regulation that the condemned man has broken is written on his body. This condemned woman, for example, will have, 'cease all rebellion'."

Claire's eyes went wide as she heard her last sentence. It wasn't what she had thought, but was likely going to be much worse.

Alex returned the knife to the drawer and instead picked out a smaller, easier to use blade. "Now remember, the more you move, the worse it'll be, and we don't want any….accidents." She brought the blade down onto Claire's otherwise nearly flawless skin, dragging it skillfully around as lightly as she could while still breaking the skin. Claire's grunts and groans of pain were like sweet music to her ears, and after what seemed like an eternity to the canvas herself, the words were spelled out in intricate and ornate letters with a few extra, outlying designs. Alex now had a small variety of blades and needles that she used to carve her masterpiece and make it as perfect as possible. She grinned, admiring her work so far, but her enjoyment was cut quickly short when she caught an accidental glance of Claire's face. While part of her liked the pained expression, another part of her hated it.

She quickly shrugged off the guilt with a small shake of her head, then grabbed a thin hose and cleared the excess blood away with a small stream of water. "Feeling alright? I can't have you passing out on me."

"W-why are you doing this?" Claire wasn't close to passing out yet, given her incredibly high pain tolerance, but that didn't mean her body wasn't still going into slight shock. She stuttered slightly as she spoke and anything she tried to move trembled.

Even while talking to her, Alex still avoided looking at her face, and instead focused on the beauty unfolding on her back. "I told you. It is your assigned punishment for disobeying and blatantly ignoring my orders and suggestions." She put down a blade once more, directly on top of where she had just cut for one of the letters, and roughly pulled it along the same, still-bleeding line. "Insolence will not be tolerated."

Retracing the same line created a whole new pain that outshone any and all Alex had inflicted thus far. Claire let out a loud cry of pain, then bit her own lip to try and stop herself from doing it again. If she chose this sort of method, she was clearly enjoying all of this. She wasn't going to give her any more satisfaction than her body forced her to.

Alex grinned, relishing the sound of her anguish, then continued on tracing her steps all the way around again. By the end of it, Claire actually did start to feel faint, though most likely it was more from blood loss than anything. Once finished, Alex lightly traced one of the lines once again, but this time just barely grazed it, making her victim twitch and writhe. She then turned back to the drawer from before and pulled the knife back out that she had used to cut off her clothes. Claire's daze was obvious, so it was obvious she'd have to finish this fairly quickly. She raised it up and held it steady at first. "Now, darling, it's time for the grand finale."

Claire had begun to cry long ago, but managed to keep herself mostly quiet, and avoided speaking to avoid from making it too obvious. Now, however, she figured she had nothing to lose by this point. The 'grand finale' could only be one thing. "P-please."

Alex froze upon hearing her speak, noting the voice trembling worse than the rest of her.

"Just….l-let me go. I won't s-say anything….t-to anyone, I p-promise. Just….please."

Alex's eyes disobeyed her will and looked down at Claire's face. It was full of such hopelessness that is was almost blank, though her eyes were horribly bloodshot, and her cheeks streaked with tears. She felt her own eyes begin to water a bit, an occurrence so rare even she wasn't sure how long ago it had last happened, and her strength drained out of her body. The knife fell out of her grip and clattered to the floor. She soon followed suit and dropped to her knees, holding her face in her hands. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…."


End file.
